Hoarding Love
by StBridget
Summary: Danny is a hoarder. Steve finds out why. AU. Dragon!Danny McDanno pre-slash/slash


Hawaii 5-0 is property of CBS and its creators.

This story owes its inspiration, at least in part, to imaginarycircus' "This Was No Chicken" and unrestrainedpassion's "Heat of the Moment" over on AO3.

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Danny Williams was a hoarder. Pens, pencils, paperclips, binder clips, rubber bands, post-it notes. It got so whenever Steve McGarrett needed office supplies, he went to Danny's desk first.

But the coins were the worst. Danny never spent his change. He just emptied it out onto a styrofoam cup on his desk, until it spilled out onto his desk, then he scooped it into the drawer. It drove Steve crazy. One day, he'd had enough. He scooped up all the coins, took them to the nearest Coin Star, and informed Danny he was taking him and Grace out for pizza. Danny complained, loudly, about Neanderthal thieves who didn't respect people's privacy, but he acquiesed, especially when Steve promised not to order pineapple on the pizza. After that, it got to be a habit. Every time the coins got to be too much, Steve would scoop them up and take Danny and Grace out for pizza.

Then the hoarding invaded his home. He discovered Grace was almost as bad as Danny. Whenever they walked on the beach, she'd scoop up rocks and seashells by the bucketful and leave them in his laundry room. When Steve had dumped one back on the beach, she'd screamed bloody murder and made him pick up every last one.

The coins followed him there, too. Danny took to sleeping over when he didn't have Grace, and the coins started accumulating on the coffee table. Danny didn't even have the decency to use a cup, just left them scattered until Steve got fed up and added them to his own personal collection, ready for the next pizza run.

Steve couldn't really complain, though. He liked having Danny and Grace in his life, rocks, seashells, office supplies, coins, and all. He liked falling asleep knowing Danny was downstairs on his couch. He always seemed to sleep better, tossing and turning those nights Danny spent in his own home. Every once in a while Steve would let himself imagine how much better it would be if Danny was even closer, in his bed, but he always clamped down fast on those thoughts.

One night, Steve woke up with the vague feeling something was wrong. He listened carefully, but he didn't hear anything. He swung out of bed and padded downstairs. When he reached the living room, he stopped. The coins were all over the coffee table as usual (it was getting to be time for another pizza run), but Danny wasn't in his usual spot on the couch. The covers were rumpled like they'd been slept in, but there was no sign of Danny anywhere.

Vaguely concerned, Steve made his way out to the lanai. No Danny. He wandered down onto the beach, wondering where Danny had gotten to. He wouldn't have gone for a midnight swim—he hated the water. So where was he?

Steve stood at the water's edge, contemplating, idly watching a sea gull soaring through the air. Wait a minute. It was the middle of the night. Sea gulls were asleep. So what was that up there over the water? Steve looked closer. It was too big to be a sea gull. As he watched, the shape got closer, and he could make out what seemed to be. . .no, impossible. That couldn't possibly be what he thought it was. There was no way he was seeing a dragon soaring over the Pacific.

Steve shook his head to clear it. He must still be asleep. This was all dream. He was just dreaming there was a dragon in his backyard. This wasn't real at all. Steve knew it was though. He knew that despite all probability, there was in fact a dragon landing on the beach a few feet away.

The air shimmered, and Steve blinked. When he opened his eyes again, the dragon was gone, and Danny was standing there, naked. Even as Steve's mind scrambled to make sense of what was going on, he couldn't help but admire Danny's body, and wish he got to see it more often, up close and personal.

Steve stopped that line of thought. It was more important to figure out why there was a dragon on his beach, and why that dragon had suddenly turned into his partner. "Danny?"

Danny jumped. "Steve! I was just. . .I mean, I. . .ummm. . ."

Steve's mind quickly sorted through fragments and legends he'd heard and came to the only possible conclusion. "Danny, are you a _dragon_?"

Danny wouldn't look Steve in the eye. "Um, yeah. I am."

Steve grinned. "Well, that explains the hoarding."

Danny looked sheepish. "Yeah, habit. Can't seem to break it."

"Can I. . .can I see you?" Steve asked hesitantly.

Danny looked at him, amazed that Steve was taking this so well, that he actually seemed to want to see him in his dragon form. "Are you sure?"

Steve nodded. "Please."

Danny shrugged. "Okay." The air shimmered again, and in Danny's place was a 30 foot long, 10 foot high dragon with gleaming gold scales. "Beautiful," Steve breathed. He thought Danny was gorgeous in human form, but it was nothing compared to this. He reached out his hand tentatively. "May I. . .?"

In response, Danny bent his neck and stretched it towards Steve. Steve touched Danny's neck hesitantly. The scales were smooth under his hand, but he could feel the taught muscle underneath. He stoked his hand down Danny's neck, enjoying the feel. Danny seemed to enjoy it too, nudging Steve with his head until Steve started stroking that. He found the ridge of Danny's eye and scratched, gazing into bright blue orbs that were undeniably Danny's, even in this form. Danny's eyes closed in bliss. _"Feels so good."_

Steve jerked his hand away, startled. He hadn't heard the words so much as _felt_ them, in his mind. "What?!"

Danny's eyes flew open. _"You can hear me?"_

"Yeah, am I supposed to?"

" _No. That should only happen with family, and. . ."_ Danny's "voice" trailed off.

"And what?"

" _Soulmates."_ The thought was so soft, Steve barely caught it.

" _Soulmates?"_ He echoed Danny's thought in his own mind before he could even say it aloud.

"Yeah." The dragon disappeared, and Danny was in front of him again, waving his hands in agitation. "Look, I know this all sounds crazy, and I know you don't feel that way, so let's just forget about this and. . ." He trailed off as Steve reached out a hand and placed it reassuringly on his shoulder.

"Danny, I do."

Danny paused mid-gesture. "You do?"

"Yeah, I do." It explained so much—how comfortable he was in Danny's presence, how unsettled he was when the other man wasn't around, how well they worked together, and how drawn he'd felt to Danny since the beginning.

"I. . .Wow." Steve smirked. It was often he rendered Danny speechless. He took advantage of Danny's sudden silence and stepped forward, covering Danny's lips with his own.

It was like the world exploded. Wave after wave of pure emotion washed over him, love and lust and affection, and he couldn't tell if it was coming from Danny or him or both, but he never wanted it to end. Finally it did, and they stood there, breathless, arms still wrapped around each other, reluctant to let go and break the connection completely.

"C'mon, Danny, time to go back to bed," Steve said at last, reluctantly letting go but grabbing Danny's hand, entwining their fingers.

Danny followed him inside, turning towards the couch before being stopped. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Bed?"

"Not down here. You're sleeping with me. Did you really think I'd let you sleep on the couch after what just happened?"

"At least let me get my clothes."

"No." Steve turned to give Danny the long, appraising look he hadn't had time for on the beach, openly admiring now that he didn't have to keep his feelings hidden. "I don't know which is more magnificent, you in this form or you as a dragon."

Danny blushed. "I thought you said something about bed."

"Oh, yeah." Steve grinned lecherously. He led Danny up the stairs to the bedroom, stripping off his own clothes before joining Danny in the bed. Danny immediately wrapped around him, pressing their bodies together and tangling their legs together. Steve was overcome with a sense of contentment, and again he didn't know if it was coming from him or Danny. It didn't really matter.

Steve snuggled close to his partner, his love, his _soulmate,_ feeling warm, safe, and protected. Looks like Danny had found something else to hoard. This time, Steve didn't mind a bit.


End file.
